10 Easter Sermon Ideas
Easter Sunday is the most-attended Sunday of the year in most evangelical churches. Visitors arrive expecting comfort, family, and a familiar song — but they are also the most spiritually receptive crowd most pastors will see all year.
The temptation on Easter is to preach a sermon about Easter; the calling is to preach the risen Christ. The following ten sermon ideas are designed to give you preachable angles into the resurrection that go beyond the cliché.
John 20:1–18
1. The Empty Tomb
The resurrection is a verifiable, historical event — not a metaphor.
- •The stone — rolled away by God, not Jesus.
- •The grave clothes — left in order, unlike a robbery.
- •Mary's witness — a woman as the first apostle of the resurrection.
- •Why this matters today.
Matthew 28:1–10
2. He Is Not Here
The angel's word reframes every other word ever spoken at a graveside.
- •The earthquake.
- •The angel's announcement.
- •Fear and joy together.
- •Go quickly and tell.
John 20:24–29
3. Doubting Thomas
The risen Christ meets doubt with His wounds.
- •Thomas's honest skepticism.
- •Jesus shows up where doubt lives.
- •Reach hither thy finger.
- •Blessed are they that have not seen.
Luke 24:13–35
4. The Road to Emmaus
All of Scripture is about the risen Christ.
- •Two disciples, eyes holden.
- •Jesus walks unrecognized.
- •Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded.
- •Their hearts burned within them.
1 Corinthians 15:12–22
5. Because He Lives
Christ's resurrection guarantees our future.
- •If Christ be not raised, our faith is vain.
- •Now is Christ risen.
- •As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive.
- •What this means for our funerals.
John 11:17–44
6. The Resurrection and the Life
Jesus claims for Himself what only God can give.
- •Lazarus dead four days.
- •I am the resurrection, and the life.
- •Believest thou this?
- •The stone, the dead man, the voice.
1 Corinthians 15:51–58
7. Where Is the Sting?
Death has lost its weapon.
- •The mystery of the changed body.
- •Death swallowed up in victory.
- •The sting of death is sin.
- •Therefore — steadfast, unmoveable.
Acts 20:7
8. First Day of the Week
Sunday worship is a weekly resurrection celebration.
- •Why Christians moved from Sabbath to Sunday.
- •Every Lord's Day is a mini-Easter.
- •How this should shape your Sundays.
1 Corinthians 15:35–49
9. The Resurrection Body
Our risen body is the pattern of His.
- •Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption.
- •Natural body, spiritual body.
- •As we have borne the image of the earthy.
Romans 10:9
10. He Is Risen Indeed
The resurrection demands a personal response today.
- •Confess with thy mouth.
- •Believe in thine heart.
- •Thou shalt be saved.
- •An invitation for Easter visitors.
Recommended readings
- Isaiah 53 — The suffering servant — read on Good Friday.
- Matthew 27–28 — The crucifixion and resurrection narrative.
- 1 Corinthians 15 — Paul's theological treatment of the resurrection.
- Acts 2:22-36 — Peter's first Easter sermon.